


keep me warm

by QueenOfHz



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Edeleth Week, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-30
Updated: 2019-09-30
Packaged: 2020-11-07 23:15:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20825414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenOfHz/pseuds/QueenOfHz
Summary: For Edeleth Week 2k19, prompt - snow day.





	keep me warm

A white blur whizzed past Edelgard’s golden crowned head and crashed onto the cobblestones ahead of her with a soft _ pfft _. She sighed and continued walking through the monastery grounds, the irritated sound of her boots muffled by the fresh layer of snow. “Honestly, Byleth. I am hardly in the mood for childish games.” She had hoped to be able to be on the road back to Enbarr that morning but a late autumn blizzard had waylaid them until the storm cleared up.

The only response from behind her was another snowball, this time not purposefully aimed to miss, but rather landing dead center upon the double-headed eagle crest embroidered on the back of her heavy mantle. With a tiny growl of frustration, she whirled around to find her wife grinning back at her from behind a hedge. “_ My dearest _,” she said through gritted teeth, “this behavior is most unbecoming of the empress of Fodlan.”

“C’mon, El. Not even you can control the weather, so there’s no use in being upset about it. Besides, it never snows in Enbarr, so we haven’t seen snow in two years.” Byleth’s grin flipped into an exaggerated pout, to which Edelgard cursed at inwardly- Byleth was adorable when she did that, and she knew it.

Furtively, Edelgard glanced around to make sure there was nobody around- it seemed most had the good sense to stay indoors in such weather. Excellent.

The white-haired woman huffed and turned away from her pouting wife, “Regardless, I simply have no free time to-- Ha!” In one swift motion, Edelgard scooped up a handful of snow, turned and lobbed it at Byleth, watching gleefully as it smashed her square in the face. As the startled woman brushed the snow out of her face, Edelgard ducked behind a nearby stone wall, laughing and preparing another snowball to throw.

Quickly regaining her composure, Byleth lobbed another snowy missile towards the emperor. “El, you look stunning in red, but you know it makes you an excellent target!”

“Consider it balancing the playing field, my love!” Edelgard laughed as the snowball went wide, landing harmlessly several feet away, and throwing her own which found its mark on Byleth’s shoulder. 

They continued throwing snowballs and playful jabs for several minutes, the falling snow muting their growing laughter.

* * *

“I’m not sick.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I told you to dress warmer.”

“I’ve always dressed like that in the winter and never gotten sick.”

“Be that as it may, it seems like you are no longer immune to the effects of cold on the human body and now must suffer like the rest of us.”

Byleth just sniffled and looked at her. Damn her, those adorable eyes again.

Snowstorm or no, the emperor still had duties to attend to. After their brief moment of childish fun, she was whisked away for most of the afternoon for meetings with the imperial forces stationed at the monastery and of course the never-ending piles of paperwork. Edelgard had only returned to their quarters just after sunset to find Byleth wrapped up in a blanket and sitting on the sofa in front of the fireplace, looking downright miserable. 

She sighed softly and removed her gloves. Crouching in front of her wife, she gently pressed her hand against her forehead.

“You’re a little warm. Have you eaten anything since this morning?” Byleth meekly shook her head to indicate no. “Right. I’ll call for the kitchen to send up some chicken soup.” She kissed Byleth on the forehead as she rose to remove her crimson cloak. Before she could step away, however, she felt a cold hand grab her wrist.

“Not hungry,” Byleth mumbled as she unwrapped one layer of her blanket and held it out for her. “Cold.”

Edelgard smiled. “The soup will warm you up, silly. Be patient and I’ll be right back once I change.” Byleth pouted again and flopped back down on the sofa.

Once Edelgard had removed her heavy cloak and armor- it took a little longer that night as she usually had Byleth’s help, the soup had arrived. Tying her long silver hair back in a loose knot, she returned to the sofa where her wife was slowly sipping at her dinner.

“Better?” She asked as she settled on the sofa and tasted her own bowl.

Byleth hummed a wordless yes. “Now that you’re here.” Her bowl was about half finished when she set it back down on the tray in front of them and laid down on her side with her head in Edelgard’s lap.

Edelgard chuckled softly and began combing her fingers through Byleth’s dark hair. “If I’d known you’d be this snuggly, I’d have beaten you in a snowball fight much earlier.

“You didn’t beat me.” Byleth murmured into her stomach.

“Of course not, my love,” she whispered, gazing into the crackling fire. 

It was not long before she noticed Byleth’s eyes had begun to droop. “All right, to bed with you, my dearest.”

Byleth shook her head and curled tighter into the blanket. 

“No? My, my, the empress is being quite childish today, isn’t she?”

Byleth nodded and buried her face in Edelgard’s lap. “...’m sick.”

Edelgard chuckled. “Finally, you admit it. Well, I suppose you leave me no other option.” Gently, she extricated herself from beneath Byleth and gathered her into her arms with ease. Byleth happily sighed and wrapped her arms around Edelgard’s neck, nuzzling her.

“Byleth, don’t do that until you’ve blown your nose.” The emperor set her wife down on the bed and handed her a handkerchief she had stashed in her pocket for just this occasion.

_ Sniff _. “Sorry, El.”

Edelgard settled down on her side of the bed and pulled the covers over both of them. Byleth settled in the position Edelgard usually took every night, with her head underneath her wife’s chin and her dark hair slowly being stroked. Byleth sniffed again and closed her eyes.

“The snow probably won’t let up for another day, so we can sleep in as long as you need. You’ll feel better in the morning.” Edelgard hoped her voice was comforting; usually Byleth was the one to offer soothing words in bed after a stressful day or bad nightmares. The dark-haired woman nodded, and gradually her breathing slowed as her body gave in to the call of sleep.

Just as Edelgard herself was about to drift off, a soft, sleepy voice broke the silence.

“El?”

“Yes?”

“Love you.”

“And I love you, my dearest Byleth.”

**Author's Note:**

> I know, I know, I'll get back to my Hegeleth fic, but have some fluff for now! I'm not going to do every day of Edeleth week, but I just needed to bang something out quickly for stress relief.
> 
> I'm on Twitter @Queen_of_Hz!


End file.
